South African team manager Mohammad Moosajee has said that hand surgery should not rule out ODI captain AB de Villiers out of the team's upcoming series against Australia.
South Africa's three-Test series against Australia starts in Centurion on February 12, which would be followed by three Twenty20s.
According to Sport24, Moosajee said that De Villiers, who will be out of action for up to a month as he recovers from the surgery, fractured his left hand during the IPL in 2011, which led to a plate being inserted to assist with recovery.
However, the manager further said that the plate recently started to cause discomfort in De Villiers' hand, which required surgery.
De Villiers will likely play no part in January's domestic T20 Challenge, which starts with a triple-header at Newlands on Sunday, the report added.